Handré Pollard shattered to miss out on facing All Blacks – Mzwandile Stick
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu gets a chance to improve on his first Test showing against the All Blacks after Handré Pollard pulled out of the second Test with injury.
Veteran flyhalf Handré Pollard was forced to withdraw from the second Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test against the All Blacks at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday due to a calf injury. Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick revealed that Pollard was reportedly close to tears when he made the difficult decision to step aside. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu stepped into the starting lineup for the game, with Manie Libbok returning to the bench.
Stick praised Pollard for taking ownership of his injury and being transparent about his feelings, noting that it must have been extremely difficult for the veteran player. The Boks coach expressed pride in Pollard's honesty and admitted that losing such a skilled leader was tough, especially considering his recent good form and hard work.
Looking ahead to Saturday's match, Stick emphasized the importance of the Boks taking chances and bouncing back from their loss at Ellis Park last weekend. He urged the team to capitalize on any opportunities that arise, as they did not have a chance to bury the All Blacks in the first test. The crucial match against the All Blacks is scheduled to kick off at 5:10pm on Saturday.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
